inter-faith

today i was at an inter-faith event organized by the hsc at stanford. dhwani performed, and there was a panel discussion that included speakers from various faiths, belonging to the stanford/pa community. i was greatly impressed by the speaker 'representing' islam. one rarely hears of religion/religious beliefs in such 'real', 'livable' terms ... terms that one can understand and identify with.

on the one hand, i feel that holding these panel discussions, asking people to represent various faiths, having religion-based round-table talks serve only to discriminate, by accentuating these faith-based differences. while in a social or professional setting i would have been unlikely to consider the religious biases of the people around me, these discussions remind me that there are differences. and that they are sometimes most fundamental.

of course, on the other hand, there are these differences. if only one could be allowed to ignore them, but one cannot, not when they threaten to take innocent lives. if only religious beliefs could be kept to oneself and not considered necessary to impose on others. if only we all could believe in 'to each his own'. perhaps then these crimes would not happen. alas, that is not the case, and so - for 'world peace' - it becomes imperative to understand others' beliefs and ensure that they understand ours. and so we must communicate. but communication was never easy. when husbands and wives across the world have serious issues communicating, how does one begin to hope that communication between disjointed communities will ever reach its desired state?

i grew up not knowing the differences between religions. at some point i did not know that there were things i did not know. later, i knew that i did not know, and considered myself naive. now, i still do not know enough. but do not consider the naivete a negative. i am content with my upbringing. only because, if i look within, it rendered me incapable of differentiating between people based on their religious beliefs. when i was in school, i went to chapel more than i did to a temple, and did not think twice. for god was always one, and omnipresent. as the textbooks taught us, and did well at doing so - i think.

anyway, these are just my cursory views on the subject. i tend to stay away from discussions on religion, for the 'one hand' argument, but i whole-heartedly support and encourage all those who make an effort to address the 'other hand' issue.